The history of the loan begins in ancient times. It is believed that crediting already existed in Assyria, Babylon and Ancient Egypt. At that time, 3,000 years ago, some gave and those who borrowed, and, as a rule, according to the laws in force, the debtor, who failed to pay off his debt in time, became a slave to the creditor.
- At an early stage of human development, loans were granted and taken over primarily for personal consumption needs. For example, when a poor farmer borrowed grain from a luckier neighbour.
- In the ancient world, the history of credit is also reflected in the history of credit. In ancient Greece, the main lenders were the temples, which served as the first reserve funds - for the time of the crop failure. And the laws of ancient Rome introduced such a concept as a debt pit, where the borrower was placed for unpaid credit - until full payment or, again, until the full transition to slavery. In this era, there were professional loan sharks. Loans began to take on a monetary form rather than a physical form, and they could already be used not only for consumer needs but also to finance trade.
In the Middle Ages, the church opposed interest earnings. It was believed that such income was a sin, since interest payments were a payment for time, and time was the sole responsibility of God. For example, in 1179, the percentage was banned by Pope Alexander III on fear of being deprived of communion. In 1274, by the decision of Pope Gregory X, the punishment was toughened - the punishment was expulsion from the state. As a result of this decision, the bankers were changed too.
But economic development could not be stopped, and therefore competent people bypassed the church ban, replacing the usual debt with operations with bills of exchange. Indeed, the profit was no longer simply from the movement of money, but from the trading of the first security. In the countries of Europe, the history of credit through promissory notes has its history since the XIV century.
With economic progress, lending has grown exponentially. During the Renaissance, loans were already fully legalized. In the 16th century, the first commercial banks appeared in Europe - professional participants of the lending market.
The government no longer prohibited debit transactions but sought to regulate them. Thus, in England in 1545, the maximum rate was 10% per year. Gradually it decreased: in 1624 - to 8%, and in 1652 - to 6%. Similar actions were taken by other countries: the Netherlands, France.
The main reason for such care about the borrowers was that the loan changed its addressee: as a rule, it was used to know to buy luxury goods or to fight internecine wars.
In the modern sense, the history of lending dates back to the industrial revolution. It was then that the lenders were replaced by full-fledged commercial banks with a developed branch network. Such redistribution was connected with the rapid development of production and trade.
And consumer crediting was a consequence of the emergence of such a concept as mass production. In other words, banks entered the retail private credit market only after the Second World War.
A similar path has passed through the history of lending in Russia. The first credit organizations were established in 1754 at the direction of Elizabeth Petrovna noble banks in St. Petersburg and Moscow: as in Europe, first obtaining loans was the privilege of the nobility. Interestingly, in Russia, as in most countries of the world, the maximum percentage was limited by law and was 6%.
It was not until half a century later, in 1817, that the first State Commercial Bank specialized in lending to merchants appeared. And the greatest development of lending was achieved only after the abolition of serfdom and later during the industrial revolution.
Consumer loans also existed in the USSR, but their use was not widespread. They became commonplace after the fall of the communist system.